The Game of Life

Chapter 589: Chapter 587: In the Dark (4000 words)

After arriving at the hospital, Jiang Feng deeply realized what the phrase “a man’s mouth can lie like a ghost” really meant.

Everything said about how it’s less crowded and more convenient for check-ups on Sundays was false; Jiang Feng almost couldn’t find Jiang Zaidi amidst the sea of people.

Since even Jiang Zaidi was hard to find, you could imagine just how crowded the hospital was on Sundays.

In the end, it was Jiang Zaidi who spotted Jiang Feng, thanks to Jiang Weiming standing next to him. Centenarians were already a rare breed, and those in the hospital were an even rarer and high-risk species. Patients, their families, and the medical staff were all very careful not to bump into Jiang Weiming, which allowed Jiang Zaidi to spot Jiang Feng in the throng of people.

Jiang Feng pulled Jiang Zaidi and Jiang Weiming to a corner near the entrance where there were fewer people and asked, “De, are you sure the hospital is less crowded on Sundays?”

Jiang Zaidi felt guilty but his expression was firm, “It was that kid Jiang Shoucheng who told me Sundays were less crowded.”

“Where’s Cheng?” Jiang Feng asked.

“He’s queuing up for Granduncle Weiming at the respiratory department. Anyway, he’s over there at the internal medicine department now, which is convenient.” Jiang Zaidi explained, “The flu has the respiratory department overwhelmed lately; I reckon the queue could take an hour or two. He told us to wait here first. There are even more people over there, and it’s not ventilated, while here the crowd might thin out in a bit and seats may open up.”

“Cough, cough, cough.” Jiang Weiming coughed a few times.

“Granduncle Weiming, how do you feel?” Jiang Feng quickly asked, noticing that Jiang Weiming had been uncomfortable since they entered the clinic building, likely due to the excessive number of people and poor air circulation, which made his breathing seem hurried and ragged.

“It’s nothing, it’s just too stuffy in here—let’s go outside,” Jiang Weiming said.

“Granduncle Weiming, it’s too cold outside, and the wind is strong. I see your cold hasn’t fully recovered yet. Let’s… let’s find a place where it’s ventilated to stand,” Jiang Zaidi suggested.

Jiang Feng found his suggestion sensible, so he helped Jiang Weiming to a place with better air circulation, and sure enough, Jiang Weiming felt much better than before, at least not gasping for air just from standing.

The three of them waited like that, and no one brought up the matter of the check-up again; after all, the main priority now was accompanying Jiang Weiming to see the doctor for his medication and possibly needing IV fluids.

“Dr. Jiang’s younger brother?” Jiang Feng was looking down at his phone when he suddenly heard someone calling him and he looked up, realizing that the caller was a nurse holding a medical record book who looked somewhat familiar.

“Are you looking for Dr. Jiang? Dr. Jiang has gone to the internal medicine department now, which is not in this building but in the one behind,” the nurse said.

Jiang Feng finally recognized her; the nurse in front of him seemed to be Huihui, whom Sun fancied, and if he remembered correctly, Huihui was already Sun’s girlfriend.

“I know, my brother is in the internal medicine department now, queuing up for my granduncle. We came to accompany him for his cold,” Jiang Feng explained.

Huihui then turned her attention to Jiang Weiming beside Jiang Feng, “Oh, right, there have been a lot of people with colds lately. If you’re queuing for respiratory, it’ll probably take a while. Why don’t you come sit in our emergency department? We have armchairs behind the nurses’ station; standing here is too tough on you.”

Jiang Feng thought about it and found the suggestion appealing; after all, he was familiar with the emergency department. From the beds to the water cooler, if the doctors hadn’t changed their spots for hiding snacks, Jiang Feng even knew where they kept their snacks in the break room.

The emergency department was always busy, regardless of weekends, workdays, or holidays. After Huihui moved three chairs and poured three cups of hot water for Jiang Feng and the others, she went back to her own tasks. Jiang Weiming sat in the chair, coughing silently without speaking, his face showing frailty, pity, helplessness, and an aversion to seeing the doctor.

For some reason, ever since arriving at the emergency department, Jiang Weiming’s cough became more frequent than before, making Jiang Feng suspect that it might not be a simple cold but possibly pharyngitis.

“Granduncle Weiming, do you want me to get you a glass of water?” Jiang Feng asked.

“No need, I’ve already drunk several glasses and don’t need more.” Adhering to the principle that hot water cures all illnesses, Jiang Weiming had been continuously drinking hot water since sitting down in the emergency department.

“Then how about I make you a cup of tea?”

Jiang Weiming felt like having some tea, as his sense of taste had virtually disappeared since catching the cold. Everything he ate tasted bland, everything he drank felt like plain water, and drinking plain boiled water was like a double dose of plainness.

In this place swarming with doctors and nurses, he wanted to drink a cup of tea to calm down.

“Don’t bother with that; where would you find tea leaves in a hospital?” Jiang Weiming said.

“Dr. Lu has some. I’ll go ask Dr. Lu to lend us a bit,” Jiang Feng said as he got up to look for Dr. Lu.

Now that Jiang Shoucheng was no longer in the emergency department, he felt uncomfortable barging into the doctors’ office.

Then Jiang Feng stopped Dr. Cao, who happened to be passing by.

Perhaps because Dr. Cao hadn’t been on night shifts lately and had some free time, she looked more rested and the dark circles under her eyes had faded significantly.

“Dr. Cao,” Jiang Feng called out to Dr. Cao, who was about to go out for brunch.

“Hey, Jiang, what brings you to our emergency department today? Your brother has already gone to the internal medicine department, which is in the back…”

“I know, it’s Granduncle Weiming who caught a cold, so we came to see the doctor. There were too many people in internal medicine and the air wasn’t great, so we came here to the emergency department to sit, and my brother is now getting a queue number for Granduncle Weiming in internal medicine,” Jiang Feng explained.

Dr. Cao nodded, “That makes sense. The internal medicine department has been extremely crowded these past couple of days, even more than during our emergency department’s peak times. How is your granduncle now? An elderly person can’t afford to let a cold drag on. They are not like young people; a minor illness can lead to very serious consequences if not treated promptly.”

“He should be okay, just coughing quite badly, and maybe having some difficulty breathing due to the poor air quality,” Jiang Feng said, gesturing to Jiang Weiming, “My Granduncle Weiming is sitting over there. I was just hoping to ask you for some tea leaves to brew a cup of tea for him.”

“Ah, I don’t have any tea leaves, but Dr. Lu does. Why don’t I go get them for you? I’ll just need to let Dr. Lu know. Come with me. There are also some biscuits in the office; you can take some to eat,” Dr. Cao said as she started walking toward the office, making sure to pull Jiang Feng along for a chat.

“Your granduncle looks pretty old, almost 90, right?” Dr. Cao remarked.

“99,” replied Jiang Feng.

Dr. Cao was shocked; they often saw elderly patients in internal medicine, but it was rare for the emergency department to encounter a patient as old as Jiang Weiming.

“Then we have to be extra careful. How about I check him over first? I’ll write up an order for a blood test and such. Waiting in line for internal medicine is going to take a while anyway. Your brother, really, he should be more adaptable. With so many people in internal medicine right now, why go there to register? Our emergency department can handle it, and we’re not lacking emergency internal medicine doctors,” Dr. Cao said.

Dr. Cao led Jiang Feng into the office, where only Director Zhong was present. Director Zhong smiled when he saw that it was Jiang Feng who had come.

Dr. Cao quickly explained to Director Zhong that Jiang Feng was there to accompany Jiang Weiming for a medical consultation. Upon hearing this, Director Zhong immediately stood up and said, “I’ll go take a look. It’s not good for the elderly man to be waiting outside at his age.”

“Thank you, Director Zhong,” Jiang Feng felt like the words “VIP patient” were practically stamped on his forehead at that moment.

If you were to ask him how he felt, it was simply fantastic, incredibly fantastic.

Jiang Feng went to brew tea for Jiang Weiming, and Director Zhong went to examine Jiang Weiming.

As Jiang Feng walked over with the tea cup, he saw Jiang Weiming obediently sitting in the chair, answering Director Zhong’s questions like a schoolboy responding to a teacher, while Jiang Zaidi sat beside them with a look of embarrassed non-filialty etched across his face.

“Zaide, what medication has Granduncle Weiming been on these past few days?” asked Jiang Zaidi.

“Ah, it seems like… just ordinary cold medicine, I guess,” Jiang Feng replied, not too certain himself, “Granduncle Weiming only took medicine yesterday and today; before that, he was always just drinking ginger tea.”

“When sick, one must still take medication. Someone his age has a weaker immune system,” Director Zhong said.

Jiang Weiming coughed twice more.

“Is the cough severe?”

“He didn’t cough much before, it started yesterday afternoon, and it seems quite severe. Then today he didn’t cough much at first, but started around 8 this morning,” Jiang Feng reported.

Director Zhong nodded; he could see that Jiang Weiming just had an ordinary cold, which had been neglected until it reached its current state. However, there was something slightly off that he couldn’t put his finger on, so he was particularly detailed in his questioning.

“Have you been eating normally these past couple of days?”

“Normal, just eating a bit less,” Jiang Feng said.

“How’s your sleep?”

“Not bad, the same as before,” Jiang Weiming said.

“Do you have phlegm in your throat when you cough? What have you eaten these past few days, and do you have any other discomforts besides the cough, any other symptoms?”

Jiang Weiming honestly replied, “A little dizzy, then these past few days I haven’t wanted to move much, feeling weak, and also…”

Director Zhong asked the questions, and Jiang Feng and Jiang Weiming answered them. As the questions piled up, Jiang Feng and Jiang Zaidi also started to feel that something was not quite right—it’s not like they haven’t been to the doctor for a cold before. Even if a cold caused a high fever, doctors seldom asked so many detailed questions.

“Director Zhong, my granduncle Weiming just has a common cold, right?” Jiang Feng asked cautiously.

Director Zhong smiled, “It’s just a common cold, but because the elderly gentleman is quite old, I’ve asked a few more questions. I’m going to write an order for a blood test. The medicine can wait until later; first, go through the hospitalization procedures and observe for a couple of days. If you’re still worried, then we can do other tests.”

“Thank you, doctor.” Jiang Weiming stood up, coughed twice more, and his breathing sounded very labored.

Jiang Zaidi helped Jiang Weiming go for the blood draw.

Director Zhong glanced at Jiang Weiming and frowned, asking, “Jiang, has your granduncle been having trouble catching his breath like this since this morning?”

“Ah, it seemed to start a little this morning, but granduncle seemed to be out of breath this morning because he tied his scarf too tightly, causing chest tightness, and then after arriving at the hospital, the air was not circulating well, so he also had a bit…”

“Chest tightness?” Director Zhong’s expression instantly turned grave, he quickly stepped forward and stopped Jiang Weiming, who had half a foot out of the emergency room.

“Sir, wait a minute, I have another question to ask you?”

“Hmm?” Jiang Weiming looked puzzled.

“Do you feel palpitations?” Director Zhong asked.

“Palpitations?” Jiang Weiming thought for a moment, “It seems I did feel a little this morning when I got up, but that was because, going downstairs…”

“Huihui, call for a consultation with cardiology,” Director Zhong turned to Huihui inside the nurse station.

Huihui was momentarily stunned, then began to dial.

“Jiang, I’ll write you a requisition first for you to go pay, your granduncle might need to do an ECG. Don’t let the old man walk around; have him sit.”

Jiang Feng stood still in shock.

Jiang Weiming and Jiang Zaidi also stood there dumbfounded.

“Heart… ECG?” Jiang Feng managed to get these two words out with difficulty, feeling as if he had lost the ability to speak in that instant, finding it very hard to make a sound even though opening his mouth was simple.

Although he did not understand why Director Zhong was asking Jiang Weiming to do an ECG or why he called for a cardiology consultation, he knew that a common cold patient definitely doesn’t need an ECG.

“Don’t worry, it’s just for preliminary tests, the elderly gentleman is quite old after all, more tests, more security. There shouldn’t be any big problem,” Director Zhong said to Jiang Feng with a reassuring smile, “Make a call and have your brother come over.”

“My younger brother?” Jiang Zaidi asked with a puzzled look, turning to Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng managed a strained smile, his heartbeat skyrocketing in the instant Director Zhong smiled at him, even feeling his heart thumping against his chest when he spoke.

That heart full of anxiety and fear, beating wildly.

“Should be nothing, probably just a routine check-up for the elderly, after all, with granduncle’s age in the balance, Director Zhong might just be being careful. That’s why he asked so many questions before,” Jiang Feng said.

Only after Jiang Zaidi helped Jiang Weiming to sit down in a chair and made sure they couldn’t see his facial expression did Jiang Feng dare to take deep breaths.

For some reason, he just felt uneasy, extremely uneasy. Ever since Director Zhong started asking Jiang Weiming small and detailed questions, even repeating the same questions in different ways two or three times, he felt a sense of panic and unease.

It was like an instinctual human reaction, instinctively repulsing and panicking over something that one can think of but dares not imagine, something fearfully dreadful.

Jiang Feng took several deep breaths, constantly reassuring himself in his mind, pushing out all the messy social news that had just flashed through his mind.

Jiang Weiming had eaten his ‘lucky buff’ beef stew with radishes; how could anything happen?

It was just a common little cold; how could anything go wrong?

Mrs. Jiang went to the hospital because of a cold every year, and at its most severe, she even had a CT scan while hospitalized.

Normal, absolutely normal.

Even if Director Zhong asked Jiang Weiming to do an ECG, it was absolutely normal.

After mentally steeling himself, Jiang Feng finally took out his phone to call Jiang Shoucheng.

Before the call connected, Jiang Feng looked at Jiang Weiming again, feeling that his complexion seemed to have grown a bit paler.

The heart that had just calmed down began to race uncontrollably again.

The call connected.

“Hello, little brother, there are really too many people in respiratory medicine. Why don’t you take granduncle to the emergency room first and have Director Zhong or Dr. Cao take a look at him? The emergency room shouldn’t be too busy at this time. I’ll go and register for an emergency number,” came Jiang Shoucheng’s voice from the phone.

“Director Zhong has already seen granduncle,” Jiang Feng said.

“Ah, that’s good then, how is granduncle? He shouldn’t have any big problems, right? Does he need to be hospitalized?” Jiang Shoucheng asked.

“Director Zhong said he wanted me to be hospitalized, and just now Director Zhong suddenly called…”

Jiang Feng spoke on the phone while watching Jiang Weiming, watching as he suddenly fell from the chair.

It was as if watching a slow-motion movie.

With a thud, he heard nothing, could say nothing.

His mind was filled with noise, nothing felt real, he held the phone but couldn’t feel it in his hand, Jiang Feng saw people screaming, but he couldn’t hear their voices.

All the sounds turned into electromagnetic noise, similar to static.

It was like in a dream, where one could move, jump, shout, and roar, yet feel completely helpless.

Until a sharp female voice woke him from the dream.

“Director Zhong, the patient you just saw has fainted!”